Maharashtra Polls: Sharad Pawar Defers Decision on MVA's CM Face. Here's What he Said

New Delhi: In a big political development ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly election, Sharad Pawar, the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) supremo stated that there is no immediate need to announce a chief ministerial candidate for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance. He suggested that the opposition alliance could come together and make this decision at a later stage.

“Who was face during the Emergency? After the election, Morarji Desai’s name came forward. There is no need to announce the name for the chief minister’s position right now. After the election, we will sit together and decide on the candidate,” Pawar reportedly said. 

Pawar had earlier declared that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has completed its initial round of seat-sharing discussions. When asked about the chief ministerial candidate, Pawar stated that the choice will be based on which party within the alliance secures the most seats in the upcoming election.

This stance has reportedly caused some friction with the Shiv Sena (UBT), which has been strongly advocating for Uddhav Thackeray to be the MVA's chief ministerial face. 

In a move reflecting the party's determination, Thackeray recently travelled to Delhi to meet with senior Congress leaders, including national president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and KC Venugopal.

The Maharashtra Assembly elections are expected to be held after Diwali. 

In the recent Lok Sabha polls, the MVA won 30 of the 48 seats in the state, while the ruling Mahayuti (grand alliance), consisting of the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP, bagged only 17.